Thiruvananthapuram: Institute of Advanced Virology (IAV), located in the Bio-360 Life Sciences Park in Thonnakkal, is organising a three-day 'national molecular virology conference' from Thursday to Saturday. The event will bring together over 100 participants, including leading virologists, post-doctoral researchers and graduate students from across the country.IAV, an autonomous institution founded by the state govt in 2019, is dedicated to research, diagnosis and management of emerging and re-emerging viral infections. Its current divisions include clinical virology, viral diagnostics, viral vaccines, antiviral drug research, virus genomics & bioinformatics, and viral epidemiology and public health, among others. Conference sessions will cover cutting-edge topics such as virus-host interactions, vaccine development, antiviral drug discovery, molecular diagnostic techniques and viral genome epidemiology. In addition to research presentations, there will be poster sessions, panel discussions and workshops to familiarise attendees with high-containment laboratory practices and bioinformatics tools.